When it's hot outside, something that is light, refreshing, and of course tastes good is sure to hit the spot. Summer rolls check all those boxes. All in the name, summer rolls are the ideal food for the hottest season. Not to be confused with fried spring rolls, summer rolls take healthy and savory ingredients and wrap them all up into rice paper. Pair that with a complimenting dipping sauce and you have the ideal summer meal.
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If your hunger is growing for something fresh and tasty, whip up one of these summer rolls perfect to put in your beach wagon the for the perfect seaside picnic.
Tip: To prepare the rolls, soak the rice paper in hot water, then drain to make it flexible.
1. Bahn Mi Spring Rolls
Trade in that French baguette for rice paper with these yummy Bahn Mi Spring rolls. It has all the flavors of Bahn Mi that you know and love packed up into one roll ready to be dipped into a rice vinegar dressing. These are also a great gluten-free alternative!
2. Vietnamese Summer Rolls with Peanut Sauce
If you've ever been to a Vietnamese restaurant you've undoubtedly noticed summer rolls on the menu. They're often served as a cold appetizer and consist of a protein along with veggies, fresh herbs, and sometimes rice noodles.
This is a great recipe to get a taste of a traditional summer roll. Savory deveined shrimp, carrots, cabbage, cucumbers, scallions, mint, and vermicelli noodles are all wrapped up into thin rice paper. It's then served with a creamy peanut dipping sauce.
3. Crab Avocado Summer Roll with Spicy Dipping Sauce
My stomach is grumbling just thinking about these spicy, savory fresh spring rolls. A blend of my two favorite Asian cuisines Vietnamese and Thai cuisine, crab meat, cool Persian cucumbers, julienned carrots, and creamy avocado slices are tucked snuggly into rice paper wrappers with a spicy cayenne red sauce for pairing. If you can't find cayenne for your sauce, there are plenty of other peppers that can serve as spicy substitutes.
4. Sriracha Salmon Summer Rolls
Sriracha lovers rejoice because there's an easy summer roll recipe waiting for you. Rather than spend time preparing sriracha salmon and letting it cool, this recipe takes a shortcut and uses a pre-made salmon pouch instead. All you need to do is stuff it all inside the rice paper, prepare the sesame soy dipping sauce, and lunch is served.
5. Smoked Salmon and Avocado
Smoked salmon and avocado are a winning combination to stuff inside a summer roll, just ask the folks over at i am a food blog. Adding in cucumbers and sprouts, they really make those two ingredients the star of the show. Pair it with a fish sauce for dipping. Avocados not ripe enough to give this recipe a try? Here's a hack to ripen avocados in just 10 minutes.
6. Avocado Veggie Spring Rolls with Thai Mango Sauce
The tropical flair added to the summer roll in this recipe is simply too good to pass up. Not too mention all the fixings! Stuffed with a heaping of avocados, bell pepper, lettuce, carrots, cucumber, fresh cilantro leaves, and fresh mint leaves, the sweet and spicy Thai mango dipping sauce is like the icing on the cake.
7. Pulled Jackfruit Summer Rolls
Jackfruit may not be your typical summer roll ingredient, but it's perfect for them nonetheless. Flavor it like pork or do what this tantalizing recipe does and give it an Asian flair with white miso, soy sauce, coconut milk, garlic cloves, and a pinch of spices. Wrap it with some crunchy, fresh vegetables and go to town.
8. Caramelized Pork Summer Roll
If jackfruit isn't cutting it for you and you want the real thing, give this recipe a whirl. In a medium bowl, prepare your peanut butter hoisin sauce for dipping, then caramelize the pork in a skillet of sugar and fish sauce until it's nice and sticky. Chop up your veggies then get ready to roll.
Rice paper can be tricky, so be sure to fully immerse it into a large bowl of cold water and wrap ingredients right away. If you're making these for a crowd, you can store them on a damp paper towel until you're ready to serve.
9. BLT Summer Rolls with Avocado Dipping Sauce
Craving a BLT, but not all the heavy bread? Don't let bread weigh you down this summer. Trade it in for rice paper wrappers instead. It may not be your traditional summer roll fixings, but this recipe really knows how to pack all the tasty flavors of the BLT into one yummy roll without all the carbohydrates. It's got fresh lettuce leaves, bacon, tomato, and the best part; it comes with a creamy avocado dipping sauce.
10. Lemongrass Chicken Summer Rolls
Umami, meet the chicken lemongrass summer roll. Its got the protein boost you want with the Asian flavors you crave.
To make this savory roll, chicken is cooked in a skillet with a heaping of flavorful ingredients. We're talking fish sauce, lime juice, garlic, crushed red pepper, coconut milk, lemongrass, and of course a bunch of spices. Rice paper is then placed in a large bowl - pie plates work too - of warm water, then rolled up nice and tight with the lemongrass chicken and cabbage. All that goodness is then served with a Vietnamese hoisin peanut sauce.
11. Tropical Crispy Chicken Summer Rolls
If you prefer your chicken crispy, give this recipe a try. Tender on the inside and crunchy on the outside, wrap it up with some sweet mango slices, rice noodles, cilantro leaves, carrots, avocado, and red cabbage. You'll want a large work surface for this one.
12. Strawberry Spinach Spring Rolls
This is a sweet twist on the typical summer rolls. Sweet tangy strawberries are paired with crumbled feta, chopped pecans, spinach, and drizzled with a balsamic reduction. You could also add some grilled chicken for an extra protein boost. It's like your favorite strawberry spinach salad all wrapped up for easy eating.
13. Rainbow Summer Rolls with Peanut Butter Dipping Sauce
Give yourself plenty of work surface for this one because you're going to need it for all these tasty ingredients. Rather than tell you how to build the roll, this recipe offers up an array of ingredients to combine and a peanut butter dipping sauce to go with it.
What ingredients do they suggest? Bell peppers, carrots, avocado, fresh herbs, vermicelli rice noodles, bean sprouts, mangoes, strawberries, and kiwi. Grab the rice papers, it's time to make summer rolls your way.
